Allstate Technology Consultant
Jace Cole is what you would call a bicycle enthusiast. Over the past two
summers, the Chicago native has logged more than a 1,000 miles on his bicycle
through grueling, 38-mile, daily round-trip journeys from his home in
Northbrook, Ill., to his office in the Loop. Despite the Olympic-caliber
commute, the distance isn’t the most difficult aspect of the trek, according to
Cole. “The majority of the route is through dangerous traffic, and in many
places, bike lanes are hard to access,” he admits.
This summer,
MPC Director for Regional Policy and Transportation Michael McLaughlin also
had the opportunity to do a little bicycling through a major metropolitan city,
but his experience was substantially different than Cole’s. McLaughlin
was
bicycling
in
Stockholm, Sweden, and experienced firsthand
how bicyclists and pedestrians are allotted their own cobblestone-lined lanes,
which separate them from potentially dangerous traffic. Ten years
ago,
Stockholm implemented
a ridership and safety plan and re-engineered some of the city’s
busiest intersections, making it easier for bicyclists to navigate through traffic.
That same plan was updated in 2006, not only to
make
Stockholm’s car, tram, bus, pedestrian and
bicyclist-filled streets safer, but also to provide the city’s 1 million
residents access to transit stops that may have previously been inaccessible.
As Chicago prepares for approval of a new state capital
bill, a federal surface transportation package, and the Chicago Metropolitan
Agency for Planning’s long-range, 30-year plan (to be released in 2010), bicycle
improvements like those in Stockholm should be considered a must-have for
Chicagoans like Cole. For more information about the Bombardier-sponsored peer
exchange that took McLaughlin to Stockholm, visit MPC's Web site or contact McLaughlin at 312.863.6022 or
mmclaughlin@metroplanning.org
.
It’s Officially Sommer-Time at MPC
Karin Sommer, one of the newest Associates to join the
MPC staff, has hit the ground running. The 28-year-old Duluth, Minn., native has
quickly dug into creative land-use projects. She is spearheading the Corridor Development Initiative in Lawndale, helping the
community create a vision for mixed-use growth along Ogden Avenue; and working
in partnership with New York-based Project for Public Spaces to create a Chicago
guidebook with resources and step-by-step instructions for agencies, community
groups and residents that want to create great places
.
Sommer, a nature lover
and architectural buff, received her bachelor’s degree
from
Carleton
College. After her graduation, she headed
to the Big Apple to work in one of the world’s largest architectural libraries,
at
Columbia
University
. There, she
gained a fond appreciation for urban planning, and decided to purse a master’s
in urban planning at the university.
In
New York, Sommer worked with a
technical assistance planning project in West Harlem, performed GIS research
for
Columbia
University ’s Earth Institute, and interned at
the Hudson Yards Development Corporation to help plan the parks for this area
of
west
Manhattan.
“Coming from New York , I love that I can still have the excitement of a big
city, but in a much more livable way,” comments Sommer about her favorite thing
about Chicago. For more information about the projects Sommer is leading, please
contact her at 312-863-6044 or ksommer@metroplanning.org.
MPC’s 2008 Annual Meeting Luncheon Has a Presidential Twist
Every year, MPC hosts an
Annual Meeting Luncheon, its sole fundraising event, convening some of the most
notable and influential decision-makers in
the
Chicago region, state
of
Illinois, and nation. The meeting highlights
key issues, concerns or topics facing the region, and this year’s meeting on
Sept. 8 will be no different. MPC is working with the Presidential campaigns of
Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama to secure a high-profile, knowledgeable
surrogate for each candidate to participate in a moderated discussion on the
candidates’ plans and priorities for supporting transportation, housing and
economic development in the nation’s metropolitan regions.
MPC’s 2008 Annual Meeting will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency
Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Dr., Chicago, on Monday, Sept. 8, from 11 a.m. to 1:45
p.m. Attendees can register on MPC’s Web site. Reporters interested in attending the luncheon
should contact Mandy Burrell Booth, MPC Assistant Communications Director, at
312.863.6018, or mburrell@metroplanning.org
.
Reconnecting Neighborhoods Revisits Communities with Recommendations
The second round of Reconnecting
Neighborhoods meetings kicks off Thursday, July 24, and community members like
Crystal Palmer are hopeful. “This community is going through positive change,”
said Palmer, who has been a resident of
West Haven
—formerly Henry Horner Homes—since
1968, and is currently president of the Henry Horner/West Haven Local Advisory
Council.
Palmer, like so many others affected by the transition
from public housing high-rises to mixed-income communities, is engaged in the
day-to-day struggle to obtain better transportation and retail options, as well
as greater input for both longtime public housing residents and newcomers alike.
Reconnecting
Neighborhoods
is a
community planning process in three new
mixed-income communities that is providing residents, developers and city
officials an opportunity to discuss their plans for the future of the three
communities, and shape recommendations for enhanced transit services, retail,
and improved public infrastructure that will result from the meetings.
The meeting for residents of the Mid-South
community
will
take
place at the King Center,
4314 S. Cottage
Grove Ave., on Thursday, July 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Near North community
meeting will take place on
Tuesday,
July
29,
at Seward Park, 375
W. Elm St., from 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. The Near West community meeting will occur on Thursday, Aug.
9,
at
Ma
jor
Adams
Community
Center, 125 N. Hoyne
Ave., from 5:30 to 7:30
p.m.
For more information, please visit the Reconnecting
Neighborhoods Web site, or contact Manager Brandon Johnson at 312.863.6046,
or bjohnson@metroplanning.org
.